Generations In Hogwarts
by Wandless Wizard
Summary: A new Hogwarts reads story involving multiple generations which is hopefully unique. Rated M for possible swearing in later chapters
1. Generations In Hogwarts:Prologue

**AN: I do not own Harry Potter, that right belongs to the wonderful J.. The information in this story comes from t****he HP books and HP Lexicon. I am new to writing and this is my first story. If you find any errors, please point them out to me and I will correct them.**

**Now on with the story.**

In a forbidden room in the Potter house, three kids and one teenager were not where they were supposed to be. The reason for this is because this room belonged to their father Harry. The room was forbidden because Harry worked at the Ministry of Magic in the Department of Mysteries.

Harry often worked from home and thus the forbidden room was created.

To keep secrets in and to keep pests out, which mainly meant his children and Ron who so often touches stuff that he should not. There were two ways to get into this room. One way, which most people thought that this was the only way to the room was through Harry's study. The other was in the library. This way was not known because the door to get to the forbidden room had been hidden for two reasons. The first being that the door leads to the forbidden room. The second was that there was also a secret library that Harry used for his job. There was a lot of rare and often dangerous tombs and scrolls in this room, which was why both of the doors leading into the room was warded with the Fidelius Charm, which the secret keeper was Hobby.

Hobby was the son of Dobby and Winky who came to Harry after the war with Riddle. Hobby was of course a free Elf who worked for the Potters, much to Hermione's displeasure.

When Harry first worked at the Department of Mysteries, Hermione ask Harry for any information on House Elves for S.P.E.W. Harry did this out of respect for her and for the sake of his ears as he did not want to go through another lecture about House Elves. This was where he found the information about House Elves, or more importantly about the very nature of them.

You see the Fidelius Charm is such a complex spell that a human brain can only hold one secret location at a time. But with House Elves, because they are born from pure magic they can hold more than one secret.

The project that Harry was working on at the moment was a personal one that he had requested from head Unspeakable Croaker. Harry was trying to build a new time travel device that would take the user back further in time than a couple of hours. This wish was granted and Harry was given a rare book from the Department of Mysteries Library which still belonged to Nicolas Flamel, who happened to have a code name of Croaker, but no one knew that they were the same person.

Harry started this project for one reason. That was to bring back his parents, dogfather and surrogate uncle. Harry knew that there was not a light spell that could bring back the dead but while he was looking in the department library he found a book on golems that caught his attention. Within the pages of the book it described how to make them and even to give them life like features so that people could be fooled if they did not look to closely. This was when an idea sprung up on Harry. If he could some how go back in time to when his parents were alive and put a spell on them so that just seconds before the killing curse struck them, a spell activated so that their bodies would be switched with a golem in there appearance. He could then bring them to the future when the war was over and have a happy ever after. But why stop there he could also do the same for Sirius and Remus.

**AN: That's the first chapter done. Next chapter should be when they go back in time.**


	2. Generations In Hogwarts:Disappearing Act

**AN: I do not own Harry Potter, that right belongs to the wonderful J.. The information in this story comes from t****he HP books and HP Lexicon. Words in bold are not mine but the creation of J..**

**Now on with the story.**

James and Albus were in their fathers study dragging their sister and godbrother by the arm. "JAMES SIRIUS POTTER! YOU LET GO OF ME THIS INSTANT" bellowed Lily to her annoying prat of a brother. "_Shh!_ quiet!" James whispered, "Don't you know anything about sneaking about?" "No and don't you shh me." Lily exclaimed "Ok i'm sorry, just please be quiet or mum and dad will hear you" "What are we looking for anyway?" Teddy questioned looking around the room he normally would not be in. "I overheard Dad and Aunt Mione talking about a device he was making. Dad was asking her about runes and if she knew any to control the flow of time. He said that he was building some kind of device but he did not go into detail." "And what are we doing here" "Well duh! I want to get a look at it, and to lay a few pranks for dad." "What! you said nothing about pranks. You can count me out on that! My ears are still ringing from when you snitched me in to mum." "I said i'm sorry Al." "Well I don't see any devices in here." Teddy remarked looking around the room. "Thats because its not in here, its.." "What are we doing in here then." Teddy growled out, his fathers wolf genes surfacing slightly. "This is a kinda go through room, there is a hidden door in this room to dads workshop." "And how do you know this when I don't know this." Lily huffed. "A prankster never reveals his secrets." James said raising his eyebrows repeatedly.

James walked to his fathers desk which was made from a douglas fir tree which originated from Vancouver, Canada. There was a shop that Harry and Ginny found there while on honeymoon who made furniture from fallen trees and the desk caught Harry's attention. James bent down to reach for something on the inside and all of a sudden one of the bookcases moved slightly. "How cliche." Teddy Voiced. "Well you know dad" Albus muttered while walking over to it and trying to pry the bookcase open. "Are you guys going to help or just watch?" James and Teddy moved to help and with the three of them helping they got it open no thanks to Lily who alwayscriticizedwhatever they did**.**

The quartet walked into the new room which looked ordinary apart from all of the tools that lined the walls and the book shelves that held books and gadgets. While looking around this new environment, Teddy spotted a set of seven books all with his godfathers name on them. He looked at the titles and saw that two of them appeared to be about ancient magical artifacts. Teddy took the first one of the shelf and read the back cover to get an idea of what the book was about.

**Harry Potter thinks he is an ordinary boy - until he is rescued by a beetle-eyed giant of a man, enrols at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, learns to play Quidditch and does battle in a deadly duel. The reason: HARRY POTTER IS A WIZARD!**

Once Teddy had read this, he took off the second book and read the cover. After he had finished this he read the third. It seemed that all these books were about his godfathers time at Hogwarts. A time that harry does not talk about all that often. Teddy took out his wand and started to cast a charm on each book which caught Lily's attention. "What are you doing" Lily asked when she was by his side. Teddy replied once he had finished casting. "I am copying all of these books as they seem to be about your dads time at Hogwarts." Teddy then began shrinking the books down to matchbook size and then putting them in his leg pocket of the cargo shorts that he was wearing.

"YES! i've found it." James said a little to loudly for someone in a room which was off limits to them. "How do you know that this is it? Its not as if it has I AM A TIME DEVICE stamped across the bottom of it." Albus pointed out. "I just know." James replied confidently. Teddy and Lily were hovering by them at this point each trying to see what the device looked like.

For some reason that none of them will be able to explain in their later years, they all started to grab the device to get a better look for them selves when the device seems to have just been activated because a timer came up and it was counting down to zero. None of them at this point had the common sense to drop the device so when the timer reached zero there was a flash of golden light and all four disappeared.

**AN: That's it for now next chapter should be out soon. On a side note, while I have been to Vancouver, I don't know if there are any shops that make furniture from the fallen trees in the parks and forests. Perhaps someone can let me know either way.**


	3. Generations In Hogwarts:Revelations

**AN: I do not own Harry Potter, that right belongs to the wonderful J.. The information in this story comes from t****he HP books and HP Lexicon. In my story, I have shortened the age gap from 8 years to 5 between Teddy and James. Words in bold are not mine but the creation of J..**

**Now on with the story.**

It was the morning of Saturday 4th October 1975 and Breakfast was well on its way to nearly being consumed when there was suddenly a bright golden flash in the middle of the great hall in Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry.

Everyone in the great hall, which meant all the teachers and the majority of students whipped out their wands thinking that they were under attack.

When the light cleared, there were 4 people in a heap on the floor. As they started to stand, it was clear that they were all related. There was now 3 boys with messy black hair and one girl with the brightest red hair many of them had ever seen. Three of them seemed to be about the same ages, and the fourth looked to be in his mid teens.

As they were looking around they saw a figure moving towards them who was wearing the most outrageous looking robes they had ever seen. Teddy being the only one who was a student at Hogwarts at the moment and who was always in the Headmistress office vaguely recognized the man coming towards them.

When the man was standing before them, he studied them for a couple of minutes. "May I have your names please?" The four of them looked at each other and then Teddy replied for them "I'm Teddy and this is James, Albus and Lily," pointing to them individually.

"I see," He paused for a moment, "And how have you happened to come here," Dumbledore said as he looked at them over his half moon glasses, his Cerulean blue eyes let out a hint of a sparkle.

"It's his fault! He touched something he shouldn't have." "You grabbed it too Lily so shut your mouth." James spat. "Calm down James" Teddy said, with that James huffed but did it quietly. "We were in my godfathers workroom where we found something that we should not have touched"

"Of Course," This was said as if these kind of things always happened. "What was this device and where is it?" Dumbledore replied gently. "We don't know, that's why we were there." Teddy then gave the device to the Professor who then started to look over the device. "This is a curious design. Do you know who made it?" "Er, um, I think our father did." Lily said unsure if that was the right answer. "And who is you father Miss Lily?" "HARRY POTTER," James said loudly and rather proud who then started to look to make sure people heard him. However this did not have the reaction that he expected.

At this new announcement, Dumbledore looked over his shoulder to look at James Potter sitting at the Gryffindor table, who happened to be sitting with his bunch of miscreants, while trying to catch the attention of his fellow house mate Lily Evans.

As Dumbledore did this, James and Albus looked at each other and then peered around either side of Dumbledore to see who he was looking at. Upon seeing who was at the table, James shouted "DAD!" as he and Albus started running towards the table. Lily and Albus who were talking to each other noticed this and followed.

As James got to the table he went right up to his father and was about to blame it all on Albus when he noticed his fathers eyes were not the usual green but were a hazel colour instead. "Your not dad, who are you?" James startled by this question, puffed out his chest and said in a confident voice. "My name is Potter, James Potter, personal protector of Lily Evans" He said, Hoping that his love would hear this and pounce on him and declare her undying love. However this was not the reaction he got. What actually happened was that when he said his name, this young boy looked shocked, then a big grin appeared across his face (somehow that looked familiar to him) and then, the boy said one word that shocked him down to his very core.

"Grampa"

**GIH**

**-:-:-:-:-**

**GIH**

Sitting at the Gryffindor table eating lunch was Teddy, James, Albus and Lily. As James was eating his steak, he looked over at Teddy and saw that he was reading a book. "What you reading?" He asked his godbrother. "Book about your father." Teddy replied as he carried on reading, too engrossed to fully reply. "And where did you get that book from?" James asked again but he was no longer listening, "Teddy, Teddy, yo Ted!" When he still got nothing, James gave him a friendly whack on the arm, which got his full attention. This however also got the attention of his grandfather but he pretended not to be listening.

"What do you want?" Snapped Teddy, "I'm reading." Teddy put the book down finally and gave James his full attention.

"I said where did you get the book from?"

"Oh, I got it from the room that you found the device in." Teddy paused to eat some mashed potatoes. "The book starts when your dad was born, where he grew up and then his first year at Hogwarts."

Now this statement really got James Potters interest as he look back to his grandson and the other boy who he was uncertain whether he was related to him or not at this point, and so he started scheming a way to get his hands on this book to find out about his son.

It only took James a couple of minutes to find a way to read the book. While being a prankster got you into a lot of trouble, it was also handy because it nurtures other talents that people may have. In James's case being caught out after curfew, which happens more times then he will openly admit, he often had to think quick on his feet to avoid detention. Another aspect of it was that because he was such a prankster, he was always thinking of new ways to achieve his goals. And this was why he was quickly able to formulate his plan in to action.

James stood and started walking to the teachers table, which was attracting the other students attention. It was very rare for James to go anywhere near the teachers if he did not have to.

As James reached his destination, which was right in front of Professor Dumbledore, he cleared his throat to get his attention. "Professor Dumbledore, can I have a word in private?"

Dumbledore's eyebrows rose at this, knowing that this student in front of him always was trying to prank him and never succeeding, studied him for a moment before responding. "Certainly Mr Potter. If you would follow my into the antechamber we can talk there."

When James was in the Chamber he saw Dumbledore with his wand in hand stunning the paintings and then muttered something under his breath and the room flashed a light blue.

Dumbledore decided to answer his students unvoiced question due to the facial expression on James face. "The portraits are such terrible gossips." "And the blue flash sir?" "Standard anti-listening charm, which you will learn next year. However we did not coming in here to discuss my skills with a wand, however intriguing that they are."

At this James got to the point and told his professor what he had overheard. "And then I thought that if we got the book, we might be able to discover any weaknesses of Voldemort."

After hearing this, Dumbledore thought over his students plan, and thought that it might need a bit of tweaking so information does not go over to the other side, but thought that it was a good idea.

"I will speak to the boy and explain the situation so hopefully he will agree. I will wait here, could you send the boy in please Mr Potter."

While Dumbledore was waiting, he reached into his robe pocket and pulled out his bag of sherbet lemons and popped one in his mouth. Albus Dumbledore turned around when he heard the door open, "Ah Mr Potter, something important has come to my attention." He paused when he saw that the boy open his mouth to say something.

"Sorry Sir, you are mistaken i'm not a Potter." "Oh dear, I'm sorry. If you are not a Potter then what is your surname?" "Lupin Sir." At this announcement, the professor really was shocked. "Am I right to assume that Remus Lupin is your father?" With this question Teddy nodded his head. "How extraordinary, sorry for appearing blunt but has your fathers condition transferred over to your self?" Teddy thought quietly for a moment wondering what the old man was talking about when the answer came to him. "If you mean am I a werewolf then the answer is no. I do have heightened sense and a taste for rare steak but that's it."

"Ok, Mr Lupin, Mr Potter Sr, alerted me to the fact that you currently have in your possession a book about your fathers future, is that correct?" "Yes sir." "I was wondering if I might have a look at it." With this statement, Teddy reached into his pocket and pulled out what appeared to be matchboxes. When Teddy found the right one, he handed it to the Professor who then used his wand to enlarged the book and read the back cover, his eyebrows going higher and higher. When he finished reading the back cover he opened the book and seemed to flick through it, stopping at some to gloss over them and passing others over. When he finished he looked up and said, "I have something that you might be able to help me with Mr Lupin."

At this, Teddy looked on in curiosity. "It seems that this book may hold the key to defeating Voldemort." Dumbledore smiled when he noticed that Mr Lupin did not flinch at the mention of the Dark Lords name, something he can count on one hand. "What were the other books that you had in your hand?" Teddy reached into his pocket and withdrew all of the books and handed them over.

When Dumbledore enlarged all of them, not only was there **Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone **but there was also books about Harry Potter which were called **Chamber of Secrets, Prisoner of Azkaban, Goblet of Fire, Order of the Phoenix, Half Blood Prince and the Deathly Hallows.** As Dumbledore read the last book he wondered if it had the location of the two hallows that he does not possess, the cloak and ring.

When Dumbledore had finished thinking about the ramifications about this plan, he voiced it to the young Mr Lupin, after all they were his books.

"I was wondering Mr Lupin if you would consent to having these remarkable books read out in the great hall in front of all the students and a few guests."

"Um, yeah, sure that would be fine."

"Excellent my dear boy. I shall make the announcement right now." And with that said Professor Dumbledore walked to the door and held it open for Mr Lupin and then went back to the staff table to make his speech.

When the Headmaster arrived at the podium, he took out his wand and tapped it on the bell which was attached to the side. A sound reverberated around the hall indicating that there was to be an announcement.

Once everybody had stopped eating and talking Dumbledore began. "Earlier today, as you know, we had some unexpected visitors join us." Here he paused for dramatic effect. "What you don't know however is that they are from the future. Their names are Messrs. James Sirius and Albus Severus Potter, Miss Lily Luna Potter and Mr Teddy Lupin." As everybody heard this they all looked over to the Gryffindor table to see that their James Potter, Sirius Black, Remus Lupin and Peter Pettigrew all had their heads down and speaking together.

"Mr Lupin had in his possession, seven books that are about the future. After discussing this with him, we have decided that it would be a good idea if we all read the books together. Can everybody please stand up and make sure that you do not need to use the lavatory while I prepare the great hall." As this was said all of the students and some of the Professors went out of the great hall to prepare themselves for the reading.

Once the hall was cleared, Dumbledore took out his wand and vanished all of the tables including the head table. As this was being done the Professors that did not leave looked at one another, and as one wondered what their boss was up to. Dumbledore called out for a House Elf and asked for a thousand pebbles. Once the Elf came back with the pebbles, Dumbledore then used his wand to scatter them around the hall and then to transfigure just over half of them into two seater sofa's. The remaining pebbles took the shape of coffee tables which were dotted around the hall. Looking around at his handy work, Dumbledore then had another idea, pointed his wand at a sofa and then transfigured it into a raised area that would be suited for reading to a large group of people. Once that was done, he moved a spare sofa onto the platform and changed it into a comfortable squishy armchair that was decorated in each of the Hogwarts colours.

When the students started to come back in, they looked around amazed at the transformation and then found somewhere to sit, and talked quietly until everyone was back.

Professor McGonagall approached the podium and was about to announce to the school that they were only waiting for the Headmaster when said Headmaster walked back into the hall.

Dumbledore had solved the problem of the wrong people finding out about the future by sealing off the owlery as well as send a few owls to some people who he wanted to be a witness of this reading.

When Dumbledore reached the raised chair, he pulled out his wand and done some more spellwork then put his wand away and sat down on the chair.

"Now everyone will have a chance to read if they want to, nobody will be forced to. I have placed a couple of spells on this armchair so when you sit down the Sonorus spell will activate so everybody will be able to hear you speak. When you are reading, ask for Misty who is a House Elf if you want a drink to keep your voice from wearing out. We will have a break about every five chapters depending on the length. The first book is called** Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone, **Now I shall read first."

Dumbledore looked around for the book and then realized that Mr Lupin still had it. After Teddy gave the book to the Headmaster, Dumbledore opened the book to the first chapter and started to read.

"**The Boy Who Lived!"**

**AN: Im surprised with how long this chapter is but it is true what they say, when you have your muse, the story flows through your fingertips and into the keys. Thanks for reading and please review so I know if im making any mistakes, or if you have any questions.**


	4. Generations In Hogwarts:Boy Who Lived

**AN: I do not own Harry Potter, that right belongs to the wonderful J.. The information in this story comes from t****he HP books and HP Lexicon. Words in bold are not mine but the creation of J..**

**Now on with the story.**

"**The Boy Who Lived!"**

"HIP HIP HOORAY!" Shouted Teddy, James, Albus and Lily, while everyone else in the hall looked at them as if they were mad.

**Mr. and Mrs. Dursley, of number four, Privet Drive,**

"Oh please tell me my sister did not marry that jerk. " Lily said annoyed.

"What's up my beautifully LillyFlower?" James said passionately.

Lily just looked at James with a exasperated expression on her face.

**were proud to say that they were perfectly normal, thank you very much. They were the last people you'd expect to be involved in anything strange or mysterious, because they just didn't hold with such nonsense.**

"Are you seriously serious Professor?" Sirius remarked loudly, while everyone else groaned. "What! I was only asking."

**Mr. Dursley was the director of a firm called Grunnings, which made drills.**

"What the hell are drills?" A pureblood in Slytherin asked.

"A drill is either a hand powered or battery powered or powered by electricity. it is used to make holes in things, mainly wood or metal." Professor Vindictus Viridian Replied

"What is electrisity?" A Hufflepuff asked. "I suggest that our Muggle Studies Teacher, Professor Taylor-Howle make a list of everything that is mentioned and that anybody who is interested can speak to him later." Dumbledore answered to stop questions before they began.

**He was a big, beefy man with hardly any neck, although he did have a very large mustache. Mrs. Dursley was thin and blonde and had nearly twice the usual amount of neck,**

"Sounds like she hasn't changed." Lily replied while shaking her head. James went to say something but one look at Lily's face and he thought otherwise.

**which came in very useful as she spent so much of her time craning over garden fences, spying on the neighbors.**

**The Dursleys had a small son called Dudley and in their opinion there was no finer boy anywhere.** **The Dursleys had everything they wanted, but they also had a secret, and their greatest fear was that somebody would discover it. They didn't think they could bear it if anyone found out about the Potters.**

"OI!" James and Sirius replied while Lily looked worried. Whatever did her sister have to do with Potter. "The Potters are the best." Sirius continued

**Mrs. Potter was Mrs. Dursley's sister,** **but they hadn't met for several years; in fact, Mrs. Dursley pretended she didn't have a sister, **

"Well thats charming." Lily said all the while thinking about her sister.

**because her sister and her good-for-nothing husband **

"WHAT! My husband better not be you Potter." No it better not be Severus Snape thought while James Potter looked dismayed at Lily's reaction.

**were as unDursleyish as it was possible to be. The Dursleys shuddered to think what the neighbors would say if the Potters arrived in the street.**

**The Dursleys knew that the Potters had a small son, too, but they had never even seen him. This boy was another good reason for keeping the Potters away; they didn't want Dudley mixing with a child like that.** **When Mr. and Mrs. Dursley woke up on the dull, gray Tuesday our story starts, there was nothing about the cloudy sky outside to suggest that strange and mysterious things would soon be happening all over the country. Mr. Dursley hummed as he picked out his most boring tie for work, and Mrs. Dursley gossiped away happily as she wrestled a screaming Dudley into his high chair.**

"Boring!" Sirius Shouted followed by a whack to the head by Remus.

**None of them noticed a large, tawny owl flutter past the window.**

**At half past eight, Mr. Dursley picked up his briefcase, pecked Mrs. Dursley on the cheek, and tried to kiss Dudley good-bye but missed, because Dudley was now having a tantrum and throwing his cereal at the walls.**

"**Little tyke," chortled Mr. Dursley as he left the house. He got into his car and backed out of number four's drive.**

**It was on the corner of the street that he noticed the first sign of something peculiar — a cat reading a map.**

"Well that's not strange." Frank Longbottom remarked.

**For a second, Mr. Dursley didn't realize what he had seen — then he jerked his head around to look again. There was a tabby cat standing on the corner of Privet Drive, but there wasn't a map in sight. What could he have been thinking of? It must have been a trick of the light.** **Mr. Dursley blinked and stared at the cat. It stared back. As Mr. Dursley drove around the corner and up the road, he watched the cat in his mirror. It was now reading the sign that said Privet Drive — no, **_**looking **_**at the sign; cats couldn't read maps **_**or **_**signs.**

**Mr. Dursley gave himself a little shake and put the cat out of his mind. As he drove toward town he thought of nothing except a large order of drills he was hoping to get that day.**

"What a boring man made even more boring by his job." A Ravenclaw noted.

**But on the edge of town, drills were driven out of his mind by something else. As he sat in the usual morning traffic jam, he couldn't help noticing that there seemed to be a lot of strangely dressed people about. People in cloaks.**

"Thats strange. Why would they be out in daylight?" A Hufflepuff Commented. "If you shut up we might find out." A Slytherin sneered nastily.

**Mr. Dursley couldn't bear people who dressed in funny clothes — the getups you saw on young people! He supposed this was some stupid new fashion. He drummed his fingers on the steering wheel and his eyes fell on a huddle of these weirdoes standing quite close by. They were whispering excitedly . Dursley was enraged to see that a couple of them weren't young at all; why, that man had to be older than he was, and wearing an emerald-green cloak! The nerve of him! But then it struck Mr. Dursley that this was probably some silly stunt —these people were obviously collecting for something… yes, that would be it.**

"What's he talking about collecting something." The same Slytherin commented.

"Muggles often have collection in the street which often consist of people dressed in fancy costumes to collect for various charities." Professor Taylor-Howle Lectured.

**The traffic moved on and a few minutes later, Mr. Dursley arrived in the Grunnings parking lot, his mind back on drills.**

**Mr. Dursley always sat with his back to the window in his office on the ninth floor. If he hadn't, he might have found it harder to concentrate on drills that morning. **_**He **_**didn't see the owls swooping past in broad daylight, though people down in the street did; they pointed and gazed open-mouthed as owl after owl sped overhead.**

**Most of them had never seen an owl even at nighttime. **

"And that is because they think that Owls are nocturnal avians" Professor Taylor-Howle explained seeing a lot of confused faces in the hall.

**Mr. Dursley, however, had a perfectly normal, owl-free morning. He yelled at five different people. He made several important telephone calls and shouted a bit more.**

"Do muggles normally shout that much?" A Slytherin asked. "No!" Replied most of the muggleborns.

**He was in a very good mood until lunchtime, when he thought he'd stretch his legs and walk across the road to buy himself a bun from the bakery.**

**He'd forgotten all about the people in cloaks until he passed a group of them next to the baker's. He eyed them angrily as he passed. He didn't know why, but they made him uneasy.**

**This bunch were whispering excitedly, too, and he couldn't see a single collecting tin. It was on his way back past them, clutching a large doughnut in a bag, that he caught a few words of what they were saying.**

"**The Potters, that's right, that's what I heard —"**

" — **yes, their son, Harry —"**

**Mr. Dursley stopped dead.**

**Fear flooded him. He looked back at the whisperers as if he wanted to say something to them, but thought better of it.**

**He dashed back across the road, hurried up to his office, snapped at his secretary not to disturb him, seized his telephone,**

**and had almost finished dialing his home number when he changed his mind. He put the receiver back down and stroked his mustache, thinking… no, he was being stupid.**

**Potter wasn't such an unusual name.**

"Actually" James began but Lily cut him off with a stare.

**He was sure there were lots of people called Potter who had a son called Harry. Come to think of it, he wasn't even sure his nephew **_**was **_**called 'd never even seen the boy. It might have been Harvey. Or Harold.**

**There was no point in worrying Mrs. Dursley; she always got so upset at any mention of her sister. He didn't blame her — if **_**he'd **_**had a sister like that…**

"Thats Charming, considering what he has for a sister." Lily muttered to her friends.

**but all the same, those people in cloaks…He found it a lot harder to concentrate on drills that afternoon and when he left the building at five o'clock, he was still so worried that he walked straight into someone just outside the door.**

"**Sorry," he grunted, as the tiny old man stumbled and almost fell.**

**It was a few seconds before Mr. Dursley realized that the man was wearing a violet cloak. He didn't seem at all upset at being almost knocked to the ground. On the contrary, his face split into a wide smile and he said in a squeaky voice that made passersby stare, "Don't be sorry, my dear sir, for nothing could upset me today! Rejoice, for You-Know-Who has gone at last!**

"What! Impossible! Preposterous!" some of the Slytherin students remarked to the students sitting beside them while the teachers leaned closer to Dumbledore to find out how the impossible was possible.

**Even Muggles like yourself should be celebrating, this happy, happy day!"**

**And the old man hugged Mr. Dursley around the middle and walked off.**

**Mr. Dursley stood rooted to the spot. He had been hugged by a complete stranger. He also thought he had been called a Muggle, whatever that was. He was rattled. He hurried to his car and set off for home, hoping he was imagining things, which he had never hoped before, because he didn't approve of imagination.**

**As he pulled into the driveway of number four, the first thing he saw—and it didn't improve his mood — was the tabby cat he'd spotted that morning.**

**It was now sitting on his garden wall. He was sure it was the same one; it had the same markings around its eyes.**

"**Shoo!" said Mr. Dursley loudly.**

"That won't work. He should stamp his foot, cats don't like that."

**The cat didn't move. It just gave him a stern look.**

"We know that look anywhere." James and Sirius said as one, "MCGONAGALL!" They shouted annoying said teacher.

**Was this normal cat behavior? Mr. Dursley wondered. Trying to pull himself together, he let himself into the house. He was still determined not to mention anything to his wife.**

**Mrs. Dursley had had a nice, normal day. She told him over dinner all about Mrs. Next Door's problems with her daughter and how Dudley had learned a new word ("Won't!").**

**Mr. Dursley tried to act normally. When Dudley had been put to bed, he went into the living room in time to catch the last report on the evening news:**

"_**And finally, bird-watchers everywhere have reported that the nation's owls have been behaving very unusually today. Although owls normally hunt at night and are hardly ever seen in daylight, there have been hundreds of sightings of these birds flying in every direction since sunrise. Experts are unable to explain why the owls have suddenly changed their sleeping pattern." The newscaster allowed himself a grin. "Most mysterious. And now, over to Jim McGuffin with the weather. Going to be any more showers of owls tonight, Jim?"**_

"_**Well, Ted," said the weatherman, "I don't know about that, but it's not only the owls that have been acting oddly today. Viewers as far apart as Kent, Yorkshire, and Dundee have been phoning in to tell me that instead of the rain I promised yesterday, they've had a downpour of shooting stars! Perhaps people have been celebrating Bonfire Night early — it's not until next week, folks! But I can promise a wet night tonight."**_

**Mr. Dursley sat frozen in his armchair. Shooting stars all over Britain? Owls flying by daylight? Mysterious people in cloaks all over the place? And a whisper, a whisper about the Potters…Mrs. Dursley came into the living room carrying two cups of tea. It was no good. He'd have to say something to her. He cleared his throat nervously. "Er — Petunia, dear — you haven't heard from your sister lately, have you?" As he had expected, Mrs. Dursley looked shocked and angry. After all, they normally pretended she didn't have a sister.**

Lily once again looked annoyed at this.

"**No," she said sharply. "Why?"**

"**Funny stuff on the news," Mr. Dursley mumbled. "Owls… shooting stars… and there were a lot of funny-looking people in town today…"**

"_**So?**_**" snapped Mrs. Dursley.**

"**Well, I just thought… maybe… it was something to do with… you know… **_**her **_**crowd."**

**Mrs. Dursley sipped her tea through pursed lips. Mr. Dursley wondered whether he dared tell her he'd heard the name "Potter." He decided he didn't dare. Instead he said, as casually as he could, "Their son — he'd be about Dudley's age now, wouldn't he?"**

"**I suppose so," said Mrs. Dursley stiffly.**

"**What's his name again? Howard, isn't it?"**

"**Harry. Nasty, common name, if you ask me."**

"How can they not even know his name." A Hufflepuff said to her friend. "I don't know but we don't even know who they are talking about." The Friend replied back.

"**Oh, yes," said Mr. Dursley, his heart sinking horribly. "Yes, I quite agree."**

**He didn't say another word on the subject as they went upstairs to bed. While Mrs. Dursley was in the bathroom, Mr. Dursley crept to the bedroom window and peered down into the front garden. The cat was still there. It was staring down Privet Drive as though it were waiting for something.**

**Was he imagining things? Could all this have anything to do with the Potters? If it did… if it got out that they were related to a pair of — well, he didn't think he could bear it.**

**The Dursleys got into bed. Mrs. Dursley fell asleep quickly but Mr. Dursley lay awake, turning it all over in his mind. His last, comforting thought before he fell asleep was that even if the Potters **_**were **_**involved, there was no reason for them to come near him and Mrs. Dursley. The Potters knew very well what he and Petunia thought about them and their kind… He couldn't see how he and Petunia could get mixed up in anything that might be going on — he yawned and turned over — it couldn't affect **_**them**_**…**

**How very wrong he was.**

**Mr. Dursley might have been drifting into an uneasy sleep, but the cat on the wall outside was showing no sign of sleepiness.**

**It was sitting as still as a statue, its eyes fixed unblinkingly on the far corner of Privet Drive. It didn't so much as quiver when a car door slammed on the next street, nor when two owls swooped overhead. In fact, it was nearly midnight before the cat moved at all.**

**A man appeared on the corner the cat had been watching, appeared so suddenly and silently you'd have thought he'd just popped out of the ground. The cat's tail twitched and its eyes narrowed.**

**Nothing like this man had ever been seen on Privet Drive. He was tall, thin, and very old, judging by the silver of his hair and beard, which were both long enough to tuck into his belt. He was wearing long robes, a purple cloak that swept the ground, and high-heeled, buckled boots. His blue eyes were light, bright, and sparkling behind half-moon spectacles and his nose was very long and crooked, as though it had been broken at least twice.**

**This man's name was Albus Dumbledore**

At this comment, most of the hall started clapping for the person they respected the most. Some others just clapped to hide in and cover their hidden motives.

**Albus Dumbledore didn't seem to realize that he had just arrived in a street where everything from his name to his boots was unwelcome.**

**He was busy rummaging in his cloak, looking for something. But he did seem to realize he was being watched, because he looked up suddenly at the cat, which was still staring at him from the other end of the street. For some reason, the sight of the cat seemed to amuse him. He chuckled and muttered, "I should have known."**

**He found what he was looking for in his inside pocket. It seemed to be a silver cigarette lighter. He flicked it open, held it up in the air, and clicked it. The nearest street lamp went out with a little pop.**

As people looked at him with curiosity Dumbledore answered their unanswered question "A device which I invented myself."

**He clicked it again — the next lamp flickered into darkness. Twelve times he clicked the Put-Outer, until the only lights left on the whole street were two tiny pinpricks in the distance, which were the eyes of the cat watching him. If anyone looked out of their window now, even beady-eyed Mrs. Dursley, they wouldn't be able to see anything that was happening down on the pavement. Dumbledore slipped the Put-Outer back inside his cloak and set off down the street toward number four, where he sat down on the wall next to the cat. He didn't look at it, but after a moment he spoke to it.**

"**Fancy seeing you here, Professor McGonagall."**

At being mentioned, Professor McGonagall sat even straighter if that was possible.

**He turned to smile at the tabby, but it had gone. Instead he was smiling at a rather severe-looking woman who was wearing square glasses exactly the shape of the markings the cat had had around its eyes. She, too, was wearing a cloak, an emerald one. Her black hair was drawn into a tight bun. She looked distinctly ruffled. "How did you know it was me?" she asked.**

"**My dear Professor, I've never seen a cat sit so stiffly."**

"**You'd be stiff if you'd been sitting on a brick wall all day," said Professor McGonagall.**

"**All day? When you could have been celebrating? I must have passed a dozen feasts and parties on my way here."**

**Professor McGonagall sniffed angrily.**

"**Oh yes, everyone's celebrating, all right," she said impatiently. "You'd think they'd be a bit more careful, but no — even the Muggles have noticed something's going on. It was on their news."**

**She jerked her head back at the Dursleys' dark living-room window. "I heard it. Flocks of owls… shooting stars… Well, they're not completely stupid. They were bound to notice something. Shooting stars down in Kent — I'll bet that was Dedalus Diggle. He never had much sense."**

"HEY!" Dedalus Diggle Shouted.

"**You can't blame them," said Dumbledore gently. "We've had precious little to celebrate for eleven years."**

Everyone was surprised that the war went on for that long.

"**I know that," said Professor McGonagall irritably. "But that's no reason to lose our heads. People are being downright careless, out on the streets in broad daylight, not even dressed in Muggle clothes, swapping rumors."**

**She threw a sharp, sideways glance at Dumbledore here, as though hoping he was going to tell her something, but he didn't, so she went on. "A fine thing it would be if, on the very day You-Know-Who seems to have disappeared at last, the Muggles found out about us all. I suppose he really **_**has **_**gone, Dumbledore?"**

"**It certainly seems so," said Dumbledore.**

**We have much to be thankful for. Would you care for a lemon drop?"**

"**A **_**what**_**?"**

"**A lemon drop. They're a kind of Muggle sweet I'm rather fond of."**

"**No, thank you," said Professor McGonagall coldly, as though she didn't think this was the moment for lemon drops. "As I say, even if You-Know-Who **_**has **_**gone —"**

"**My dear Professor, surely a sensible person like yourself can call him by his name? All this 'You-Know-Who' nonsense — for eleven years I have been trying to persuade people to call him by his proper name: **_**Voldemort**_**."**

When the name was said, everyone flinched.

**Professor McGonagall flinched, but Dumbledore, who was unsticking two lemon drops, seemed not to notice. "It all gets so confusing if we keep saying 'You-Know-Who.' I have never seen any reason to be frightened of saying Voldemort's name."**

**"I know you haven't," said Professor McGonagall, sounding half exasperated, half admiring. "But you're different. Everyone knows you're the only one You-Know- oh, all right, **_**Voldemort**_**, was frightened of."**

"**You flatter me," said Dumbledore calmly. "Voldemort had powers I will never have."**

"**Only because you're too — well —**_**noble **_**to use them."**

**It's lucky it's dark. I haven't blushed so much since Madam Pomfrey told me she liked my new earmuffs."**

"Ooohhh." James and Sirius looked at each other and then started to sing, "Albus and Poppy sitting in a tree K I S S I N G, First comes" "Finish that song and you two will be in detention for the rest of the year." Professor McGonagall said standing over them with a stern look. They looked at each over sheepishly and quietened down.

**Professor McGonagall shot a sharp look at Dumbledore and said, "The owls are nothing next to the **_**rumors **_**that are flying around. You know what they're saying? About why he's disappeared? About what finally stopped him?"**

**It seemed that Professor McGonagall had reached the point she was most anxious to discuss, the real reason she had been waiting on a cold, hard wall all day, for neither as a cat nor as a woman had she fixed Dumbledore with such a piercing stare as she did now. It was plain that whatever "everyone" was saying, she was not going to believe it until Dumbledore told her it was true. Dumbledore, however, was choosing another lemon drop and did not answer.**

"**What they're **_**saying**_**," she pressed on, "is that last night Voldemort turned up in Godric's Hollow. He went to find the Potters.**

"I don't like the sound of this." James said to Sirius who agreed with him.

**The rumor is that Lily and James Potter are — are — that they're — **_**dead**_**."**

James was excited and shocked. On the one hand he was married to Lily, his true love. However on the over they were both killed. Lily on the other hand could not believe that she married Potter and then died. Severus Snape on the other hand was angry that his rival had married his girl and sadness that she was killed by someone who he thought had the right ideas.

**Dumbledore bowed his head. Professor McGonagall gasped.**

"**Lily and James… I can't believe it… I didn't want to believe it… Oh, Albus…"**

**Dumbledore reached out and patted her on the shoulder. "I know… I know…" he said heavily.** **Professor McGonagall's voice trembled as she went on. "That's not all. They're saying he tried to kill the Potter's son, Harry.**

**But he couldn't. **

"What, why not?" Students started to shout.

**He couldn't kill that little boy. No one knows why, or how, but they're saying that when he couldn't kill Harry Potter, Voldemort's power somehow broke — and that's why he's gone."**

**Dumbledore nodded glumly.**

"**It's — it's **_**true**_**?" faltered Professor McGonagall. "After all he's done… all the people he's killed… he couldn't kill a little boy? It's just astounding… of all the things to stop him… but how in the name of heaven did Harry survive?"**

"**We can only guess." said Dumbledore. "We may never know."**

**Professor McGonagall pulled out a lace handkerchief and dabbed at her eyes beneath her spectacles. Dumbledore gave a great sniff as he took a golden watch from his pocket and examined it. It was a very odd watch. It had twelve hands but no numbers; instead, little planets were moving around the edge. It must have made sense to Dumbledore, though, because he put it back in his pocket and said, "Hagrid's late. I suppose it was he who told you I'd be here, by the way?"**

"**Yes," said Professor McGonagall. "And I don't suppose you're going to tell me **_**why **_**you're here, of all places?"**

"Yes do tell." Some students muttered.

"**I've come to bring Harry to his aunt and uncle. They're the only family he has left now."**

"**You don't mean – you **_**can't **_**mean the people who live **_**here**_**?" cried Professor McGonagall, jumping to her feet and pointing at number four. "Dumbledore — you can't. I've been watching them all day. You couldn't find two people who are less like us. And they've got this son — I saw him kicking his mother all the way up the street, screaming for sweets. Harry Potter come and live here!"**

"**It's the best place for him," said Dumbledore firmly. "His aunt and uncle will be able to explain everything to him when he's older. I've written them a letter."**

"How can you explain all this in a letter?" Many people questioned one another.

"**A letter?" repeated Professor McGonagall faintly, sitting back down on the wall. "Really, Dumbledore, you think you can explain all this in a letter?** **These people will never understand him! He'll be famous — a legend — I wouldn't be surprised if today was known as Harry Potter day in the future — there will be books written about Harry — every child in our world will know his name!"**

"**Exactly." said Dumbledore, looking very seriously over the top of his half-moon glasses. "It would be enough to turn any boy's head. Famous before he can walk and talk! Famous for something he won't even remember! Can you see how much better off he'll be, growing up away from all that until he's ready to take it?"**

**Professor McGonagall opened her mouth, changed her mind, swallowed, and then said, "Yes — yes, you're right, of course. But how is the boy getting here, Dumbledore?" She eyed his cloak suddenly as though she thought he might be hiding Harry underneath it.**

"**Hagrid's bringing him."**

"**You think it —**_**wise **_**— to trust Hagrid with something as important as this?"**

"**I would trust Hagrid with my life," said Dumbledore.**

**I'm not saying his heart isn't in the right place," said Professor McGonagall grudgingly, "but you can't pretend he's not careless. He does tend to — what was that?"**

**A low rumbling sound had broken the silence around them. It grew steadily louder as they looked up and down the street for some sign of a headlight; it swelled to a roar as they both looked up at the sky — and a huge motorcycle fell out of the air and landed on the road in front of them.**

**If the motorcycle was huge, it was nothing to the man sitting astride it. He was almost twice as tall as a normal man and at least five times as wide. He looked simply too big to be allowed, and so **_**wild **_**— long tangles of bushy black hair and beard hid most of his face, he had hands the size of trash can lids, and his feet in their leather boots were like baby dolphins. In his vast, muscular arms he was holding a bundle of blankets.**

"**Hagrid," said Dumbledore, sounding relieved. "At last. And where did you get that motorcycle?"**

"**Borrowed it, Professor Dumbledore, sir," said the giant, climbing carefully off the motorcycle as he spoke. "Young Sirius Black lent it to me. I've got him, sir."**

James looked at sirius and muttered cool.

"**No problems, were there?"**

"**No, sir — house was almost destroyed, but I got him out all right before the Muggles started swarmin' around. He fell asleep as we was flyin' over Bristol."**

**Dumbledore and Professor McGonagall bent forward over the bundle of blankets. Inside, just visible, was a baby boy, fast asleep. Under a tuft of jet-black hair over his forehead they could see a curiously shaped cut, like a bolt of lightning.**

"**Is that where —?" whispered Professor McGonagall.**

"**Yes," said Dumbledore. "He'll have that scar forever."**

"**Couldn't you do something about it, Dumbledore?"**

"**Even if I could, I wouldn't. Scars can come in handy. I have one myself above my left knee that is a perfect map of the London Underground. Well — give him here, Hagrid — we'd better get this over with."**

**Dumbledore took Harry in his arms and turned toward the Dursleys' house.**

"**Could I — could I say good-bye to him, sir?" asked Hagrid. He bent his great, shaggy head over Harry and gave him what must have been a very scratchy, whiskery kiss. Then, suddenly, Hagrid let out a howl like a wounded dog.**

"**Shhh!" hissed Professor McGonagall, "You'll wake the Muggles!"**

"**S-s-sorry," sobbed Hagrid, taking out a large, spotted handkerchief and burying his face in it. "But I c-c-can't stand it —Lily an' James dead — an' poor little Harry off ter live with Muggles —"**

"**Yes, yes, it's all very sad, but get a grip on yourself, Hagrid, or we'll be found," Professor McGonagall whispered, patting Hagrid gingerly on the arm as Dumbledore stepped over the low garden wall and walked to the front door. He laid Harry gently on the doorstep, took a letter out of his cloak, tucked it inside Harry's blankets, and then came back to the other two.**

"You can't leave a baby out all night on a door step." Madam Pomfrey started to rant at Dumbledore when he replied that he was sure that he put warming charms on the blankets , soothing the healers worries.

**For a full minute the three of them stood and looked at the little bundle; Hagrid's shoulders shook, Professor McGonagall blinked furiously, and the twinkling light that usually shone from Dumbledore's eyes seemed to have gone out.**

"**Well," said Dumbledore finally, "that's that. We've no business staying here. We may as well go and join the celebrations."**

"**Yeah," said Hagrid in a very muffled voice, "I best get this bike away. G'night, Professor McGonagall — Professor Dumbledore, sir."**

**Wiping his streaming eyes on his jacket sleeve, Hagrid swung himself onto the motorcycle and kicked the engine into life; with a roar it rose into the air and off into the night.**

"**I shall see you soon, I expect, Professor McGonagall," said Dumbledore, nodding to her. Professor McGonagall blew her nose in reply.**

**Dumbledore turned and walked back down the street. On the corner he stopped and took out the silver Put-Outer. He clicked it once and twelve balls of light sped back to their street lamps so that Privet Drive glowed suddenly orange and he could make out a tabby cat slinking around the corner at the other end of the street. He could just see the bundle of blankets on the step of number four.**

"**Good luck, Harry," he murmured. He turned on his heel and with a swish of his cloak, he was gone.**

**A breeze ruffled the neat hedges of Privet Drive, which lay silent and tidy under the inky sky, the very last place you would expect astonishing things to happen. Harry Potter rolled over inside his blankets without waking up. One small hand closed on the letter beside him and he slept on, not knowing he was special, not knowing he was famous, not knowing he would be woken in a few hours' time by Mrs. Dursley's scream as she opened the front door to put out the milk bottles, nor that he would spend the next few weeks being prodded and pinched by his cousin Dudley… He couldn't know that at this very moment, people meeting in secret all over the country were holding up their glasses and saying in hushed voices: "To Harry Potter — the boy who lived!"**

As Dumbledore finished, he was about to speak when there was another flash of golden light in the middle of the hall.

**AN: Improbable going to wrap this story up pretty quickly. While I thought that writing a story like this would be fun, its actually rather tedious and boring.**


End file.
